Police hunt hit and run tractor driver

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General News

Authorities are looking for a tractor driver after a hit and run offence in Braunau, Upper Austria, this weekend.A 49-year-old cyclist sustained serious injuries when he was hit by the tractor in an overtaking manoeuvre on Saturday night. The unidentified driver failed to stop after the incident.Meanwhile, a 72-year-old Graz resident was arrested for beating […]

Police find shot chamois in car boot

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General News

A 44-year-old man has been put in custody after police discovered a dead chamois and an unregistered weapon in his car.Traffic police officers found the killed animal and an unlicensed gun, which features a sound absorber, in the boot of the man’s vehicle during a traffic check in Bad Ischl, Upper Austria.He was arrested after […]

Elderly ‘King of Burglars’ exposed as drug gang boss

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An elderly Austrian nicknamed the “King of Burglars” has been identified as the ringleader of a drug-smuggling syndicate.Police in Vienna announced today (Weds) that Erich K., who spent many years in prison on account of hundreds of break-ins, was arrested earlier this week. Nineteen alleged accomplices are facing charges as well, officials added.The 77-year-old criminal […]

Rueful robber hands himself in

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General News

A remorseful criminal who took part in a spectacular casino robbery has given himself up to police more than one year after the coup.Admir B. was member of a five-strong group who stole 47,000 Euros in cash from a casino in Graz in a robbery lasting just 30 seconds in November 2009.All four of the […]

More pickpocketing as crooks’ high season nears

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General News

The number of pickpocket offences is increasing – and police are bracing for another rise in figures as Austrians are flocking to shopping centres and Christmas markets.Federal police announced today (Tues) that they registered around 15,000 reported cases of thefts by pickpockets in the first nine months of this year. They stressed this was a […]

Police warn of bathing salts drug craze

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General News

More and more teenagers are consuming bathing salts to get high, police officials have warned.Hermann Feldbacher, a drug expert at the Upper Austrian police department, said today (Fri): “There is a trend for an increasing number of very young addicts to buy bathing salts, incense sticks and other cheap products.”Speaking to Viennese newspaper Heute, Feldbacher […]

Postman may have lied about robberies

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A young postman faces three years in jail for making up two armed robberies.The 20-year-old from Schwertberg told police last week he was threatened by a masked man when his car broke down on a snow-covered countryside street near St. Georgen an der Gusen.The Post AG employee claimed in police interviews that the attacker was […]

Austrian and Italian police team up at Xmas market

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General News

Austrian police are cooperating with their Italian colleagues in a new pilot project.Carabinieri Lorenzo Galli and Paolo de Biasi will join Austrian police officers on patrol at the Christmas markets of Innsbruck, Tyrol, during the next few weeks.The Italian policemen said today (Fri) they will try to reduce communication troubles when their fellow countrymen become […]

‘Woodsman’ rapist caught

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General News

A convicted rapist nicknamed “The Woodsman” has been arrested after being on the run for one week.Friedrich Osterbauer is accused of having seriously injured a call girl in Graz the weekend before last. Magdalena D., 29, identified Osterbauer as the man who strangled her with a cable before slashing her throat when she was briefly […]

Pie-eyed burglars nod off on sofa

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General News

Two burglars fell asleep after gorging on apple pie, police in Lower Austria have revealed.The friends, aged 39 and 46, stole 60 Euros from a family home in Hohenberg on Saturday night. They then left for a nearby pub where they spent the cash on cigarettes and beer.At closing time, the crooks decided to return […]